


"Masked" (A "Masked Singer" AU)

by TheCartoonAddict927



Category: Fanfiction - Fandom, Television - Fandom, The Masked Dancer, The Masked Singer (US TV)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Drama, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Family, Fantasy, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Love Triangles, Love at First Sight, M/M, Multi, Romance, Slice of Life, Slight Alcohol, Slight Violence, Slight swearing, Smoking, Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29779410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCartoonAddict927/pseuds/TheCartoonAddict927
Summary: A 'Masked Singer' AU.  Life is perfectly normal for all of the citizens of Maskglen, South Carolina.  Everyone just goes about their daily lives and routines and stay happy.  To them there’s nothing to it; they just know how to keep their problems masked.  But when a new neighbor moves into town, she brings a little light with her.  Pretty soon, other new faces show up as well and suddenly everything changes for everybody.
Relationships: Cotton Candy (The Masked Dancer US)/Ice Cream (The Masked Singer US), Fox (The Masked Singer US)/Original Female Character(s), Giraffe (The Masked Singer US)/Unicorn (The Masked Singer US), Monster (The Masked Singer US)/Miss Monster (The Masked Singer US), Original Male Character(s)/Original Female Character(s), Peacock (The Masked Singer US)/Flamingo (The Masked Singer US), Skeleton (The Masked Singer US)/Egg (The Masked Singer US), Thingamajig (The Masked Singer US)/Original Female Character(s), Thingamajig (The Masked Singer US)/Original Female Character(s)/Astronaut (The Masked Singer US), Whatchamacallit (The Masked Singer US)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **A.N: Yep, I finally put this story back up here ^^;**
> 
> **The reason that I took it down in the first place was because I hadn't updated the story since December due to MAJOR writer's block and I thought I was never going to finish it. But recently, I've had a flood of inspiration and have been able to write more chapters. So I'm putting this story back up and it's here to stay! :D I even went back and did a little editing so not only is the first chapter being reposted, it's slightly improved! ^^**
> 
> **Even though I established some rules before, let's quickly review them again. I do NOT own most of the masks that are featured in this story. All rights go to FOX as well as the networks that air TMS in other countries. I only really own the masks that I come up with.**
> 
> **Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's get started!**

It was an extremely quiet September Tuesday in Maskglen, South Carolina. The morning was young and the sun was already out ready to start the day. But instead of being met with the usual warm weather, the town was met with a slight chill in the air. The denizens of the town were certain that if it got any colder, frost would surely form. 

Maskglen was a quaint little town that lied about 27 miles outside the city of Charleston. Because of this, the city itself was usually overlooked and only really mattered to its rather unique inhabitants. Although the town didn’t quite get the love that it deserved, they didn’t care. Even if it wasn't all that much, it was home. 

* * *

A certain butterfly with blue and green sparkly wings emerged from her dwelling stepping out onto her back porch. She let out a yawn as she stretched out her large and beautiful wings. She was clad in deep blue pajamas with a steaming cup of fruity herbal tea in her hands. It wasn’t as sweet and satisfying as the nectar she usually drank, but it warmed her up well enough. As she stared out into her yard, she took a moment to enjoy the feeling of peace and serenity that the morning was giving. It was indeed chilly; enough so that Butterfly was somewhat worried that it would kill her precious flowers. But aside from that, it was about the same as every other morning, and Butterfly was just fine with that. 

Suddenly she noticed out of the corner of her bright emerald compound eye a familiar pink flamingo who lived about two doors down strut out onto her back porch as well. She too was clad in her PJ’s along with a hot pink bathrobe and slippers. The morning paper was tucked under her right wing while she attempted to balance her coffee in her left hand and a toasted bagel in her right. 

The lovely flamingo looked over and noticed her neighbor. A smile immediately spread across her beak. “Hey, what’s up, Butterfly? _Buenas días, mi amiga_.” 

“Morning, Flamingo.” Butterfly replied, 

“Nice day, isn’t it?” Flamingo asked, 

Butterfly nodded, “Yeah, it is. A little cold, though.” 

Then Flamingo nodded as well, “Yeah. When I moved from Miami, I was expecting slightly colder weather. But this is a little crazy.” 

Butterfly shivered as she took a huge sip of her tea. “I know. I only hope it won’t get any colder, or my wings will freeze.” 

“Well, we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” Flamingo asked laughing a little bit, 

“No, ma’am.” Butterfly laughed as well, after that there was an awkward silence between the two friends. 

Butterfly drummed her fingers on her mug deciding to finally break the silence. “Say uh, by the way. Was anything different when you went and got your paper this morning?” 

Flamingo stopped abruptly as she drank some of her coffee. She looked at her friend with a knowing expression. “If you’re asking me if the house sold, no it didn’t.” She replied, 

The house that rested between both Butterfly and Flamingo’s homes had been empty for quite some time. Their previous neighbor, Miss Flower, was what you would call a model neighbor. She was a delightful woman with a voice of gold and the loveliest purple petals. Both Flamingo and Butterfly adored her; heck, everyone on the block did. She would spend most of her days singing, tending to her garden, listening to music, and baking delicious goodies with her best friend, Miss Bee. Goodies that Flamingo, Butterfly, and all of their other friends, loved to indulge in. But about half a year ago, Miss Flower decided she wanted to move all the way to the other side of town so she could be closer to her family. So, ultimately, she sold the house. Butterfly and Flamingo were the ones who were the most upset by this, but they understood her reasoning and wished her well. Since then, the lovely home stood proud but silent for months and months. A realty sign stood in the front yard just patiently waiting for someone to slap a bright red **_“SOLD”_ ** sticker on it. 

“Dang, I was hoping that the young couple looking at it a month ago would choose it.” Butterfly sulked, 

Flamingo sighed as she sat down at her patio table. She set down her coffee and started munching her bagel while she read the paper. “It’s hopeless, Butterfly. It’s been six months. Nobody’s gonna buy that house.” 

“I know. It’s a real shame, though. It’s such a lovely place, and to see it so quiet and so empty is a little heartbreaking.” Butterfly said, 

Flamingo nodded sadly before going back to her paper. When her eyes fell upon a certain article, she smiled wide once again. 

“Hey, Butter,” she said, “There’s an article in the paper about your group’s big show in two weeks!” The sassy pink bird showed the dazzling blue green Rhopalocera the article in question. 

Butterfly smiled and nodded seeing the article taking yet another sip of her tea. “Yeah, we’re really excited for that show. But, not gonna lie, it’s also pretty nerve wracking as well.”

“Why? I’ve seen you, Black Widow, and Ladybug all practice together. You’re amazing!” Flamingo said exaggeratingly, “Besides, I’ve worked with Black Widow before. We used to perform together when we were young. She’s one of the best singers I know.” 

“I just hope that we’re ready. I don’t want us to end up making total fools of ourselves.” Butterfly added, 

Flamingo gave her friend a warm and reassuring smile. “¡ _Relajarse_! You guys will do fine!” She finally finished off both her bagel and her coffee before standing up from her table. “Well, I should really be getting to work now.” Flamingo said slightly annoyed, 

“Yeah, same. Well, I’ll see you later.” Butterfly waved, 

Flamingo waved back. “Later, B-B-F-L!” Then she disappeared back into her house. 

Butterfly smiled because she knew what that meant: “Best Butterfly Friend for Life”. She quickly downed the rest of her fruity tea and headed back inside as well. 

* * *

Butterfly got herself all dolled up for the day such as brushing her teeth and applying a touch of eyeshadow. Once she was ready to go, she grabbed her tan trench coat and began the long trek to work at the venue downtown. She didn’t usually walk everywhere, but her car was getting some detailing done in the shop and the auto shop guy said it was taking longer than expected but should be ready within the next few days. Butterfly wasn’t very pleased with this information. She hated walking everywhere; especially in very crowded places. The reason being that she always found herself bumping into people with her huge wings and antennae. This morning was no different. Sure, she wasn’t hitting people with her wings because they were concealed under her coat, but her antennae kept on constantly bumping into people as she passed them on the narrow sidewalks and when she was with a crowd of people waiting at the crosswalk for the “Walk” sign to come on. This earned her some dirty glances from the other pedestrians. But at this point, she was used to it and she really would have cared less. 

Much to her relief she finally arrived at the street where she worked. She was a little wobbly as some of the other people rudely pushed passed her while crossing the road. Once on the adjacent sidewalk, she straightened out her coat before walking down the way towards the venue. On the way there, she passed by a small bakery and she was enchanted by the sweet smells that were coming from within. The scents of sugar, chocolate, fruit, and warm bread hit her making her antennae go haywire. If it weren’t for the little bell that dinged every time the door opened serving as a warning, Butterfly’s face would have most certainly been slammed with the glass door. Luckily, she was able to jump back just in the nick of time. 

Out of the bakery stepped two tall monsters. One was about six foot six with long red white and blue hair hanging all over him; one lone blue eye peeked out among the strands. He wore a dark grey jacket and matching sweatpants. The other monster, however, was much taller. He stood at seven feet and had green fur that stuck up in long spikes at the top of his head. His smile was wide and his teeth were crooked, but it still held a lot of charm and sincerity there. He also wore thick-framed glasses. He was clad in an oversized dark green parka and sweats as well. Both monsters had sports bags slung over their shoulders. 

Butterfly’s shock of almost being hit with the door immediately faded upon seeing the two monsters. She smiled bright. “Oh! Hey, Thingamajig! Hey, Whatchamacallit!” 

Both monsters instantly noticed her. “Oh, hey, Butterfly. What’s up?” Thingamajig beamed, his smooth deep voice sounded welcoming, 

“Hey! What’s up, Flutter Butter?” Whatchamacallit asked, his deep voice also sparked some positivity. Although his smile was concealed by his long hair, both Thingamajig and Butterfly could tell by his tone that Whatchamacallit was in a really peppy mood this morning. 

Butterfly giggled at Whatchamacallit’s funny little nickname for her. “Nothing much; just heading to work.” She explained, “What are you guys up to?” 

Thingamajig held up a chocolate chip muffin. “We were just grabbing some breakfast before heading to basketball practice.” 

Whatchamacallit followed and held up his blueberry muffin. 

“Sweet!” Butterfly replied, “I haven’t seen you guys all week. I prayed that you both were okay.” 

“Don’t worry, we’re good.” Thingamajig replied, “But we appreciate your concern.”

“You know something? It’s not just you guys. I haven’t seen a lot of our other friends lately...Well, except for Flamingo, Black Widow, and Ladybug...But Black Widow, Ladybug, and I all work together and Flamingo is my neighbor so...yeah…” 

“Yeah, same.” Thingamajig nodded, 

“It’s not often that the whole gang gets to hang together anymore. Everyone’s always so busy.” Butterfly said, 

“Ugh, we know. Practice has been _killing_ us lately!” Whatchamacallit groaned, 

“Hmm, you know what? We should have a get together; all of us. It’ll be fun!” Butterfly replied, 

Thingamajig and Whatchamacallit looked at each other then back at her smiling. 

“Sure!” Whatchamacallit exclaimed, 

“Sounds awesome.” Thingamajig nodded, 

“Great! I’ll order pizza, buy some snacks, we can all dance to some music. It’ll be rocking!” Butterfly said ecstatically, 

Whatchamacallit raised his hand. “Ooh! Can we do karaoke? You know how much Thing here loves to sing.” He playfully patted his friend on the back. Thingamajig shot him a dirty look. 

“Oh yeah, that’s true!” Butterfly agreed,

Thingamajig then smiled sheepishly, also blushing from both the flattery and slight embarrassment. “Yeah, well, uh,” he cleared his throat. “I-I can hold a tune.” 

“That’s a great idea, Whatcha. I’ll be sure to include that.” Butterfly said, “We just need this to happen on a day that’s gonna work for everyone.” 

“How about Friday? We don’t have a game that night.” Whatchamacallit suggested, 

“Perfect! I’ll spread the word that we’re having a get together Friday; 8 o’clock!” Butterfly said excitedly, “Well, I’d best be getting to work. I’ll see you guys then!” She waved and walked off.

Both monsters waved back. “See ‘ya, Butterfly.” Thingamajig called out, the green monster continued to give a dirty look to Whatchamacallit. 

“...What?” Whatchamacallit shrugged, 

“You just _had_ to bring up the singing thing, didn’t you?” He said, 

“Of course! Thing, you’re such a great singer. You have an amazing voice.” Whatchamacallit said,

“Thanks, but you’re quite the musical guy yourself, Whatcha.” Thingamajig replied,

“Oh no. My voice is fine, but it’s _nothing_ compared to yours, man!” 

Thingamajig sighed. “I guess...But hey, a group get together. Can you believe it?” They started walking.

Whatchamacallit shook his head, “No, I can’t. They don’t happen as much as they used to.”

“Butterfly’s right, though. We all haven’t hung out in a long while. Come to think of it, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen any of our friends in general.” Thingamajig said, 

“Well, a lot has changed in the past year. Monster and Miss Monster got engaged, Rottweiler and Rabbit have been on that U.S tour for months. Everybody’s just doing their own thing now.” Whatchamacallit explained, 

“Yeah, especially Monster and Miss Monster. I literally haven’t seen either of them since they announced the engagement,” Thingamajig replied, “Have you seen them?”

Whatchamacallit shook his head. “No. But to be honest, I’m kinda glad I haven’t. I’m a little jealous of them.” 

Thingamajig looked at his friend confused. “Why?” 

“I don’t know, it just seems kind of nice; you know, finding that one specific person who is meant for you. Like, your actual soulmate.” Whatchamacallit said, “It just makes me kind of jealous that I don’t have something like that. I’ve dated a couple women, I hoped that one of them could be the one...But they never worked out…” Whatchamacallit sulked, 

Thingamajig put a consoling hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it, dude. You’re a great guy, and an awesome friend. You’ll find her eventually.”

The hairy blue monster smiled up at the tall green monster. “Thanks.” 

The two friends continued walking towards the training center where their team practices were held. 

“By the way, how come you don’t have anyone yet, Thing?” Whatchamacallit asked, 

The super tall furry green monster smiled and rolled his eyes. “Whatcha, I already told you why. I’m too wrapped up in basketball right now. You know how I roll: Work first, personal life second.” 

“You mean being single doesn’t bother you? At all?” Whatchamacallit asked amazed, 

“Meh. Not really,” Thingamajig shrugged, “Right now I have my career and that’s good enough for me.”

“Thing, dude, your career isn’t going to make you happy.” Whatchamacallit said, 

“Right now it is.” Thingamajig replied, 

“But for how long? Thing, you’re going to find someone sooner or later, and when that happens, you will have to choose whether that person or the game that you love is more important.” 

Thingamajig reached into his bag. “Well, I can tell you what’s the most important thing to me right now...” He pulled out a basketball and twirled it on his fluffy blue finger before stuffing it back in his sports bag. They kept on walking. 

“Well, getting away from that topic, I hope Butterfly will be able to get everybody together for this shindig.” Whatchamacallit said, 

Thingamajig nodded, “Yeah, totally. Alright, we’d better get to practice or else Coach is going to be ticked.” He joked, 

Whatchamacallit nodded as well. “Yeah, remember what happened the last time we were late?” 

Thingamajig laughed at the memory. “How could I forget!? He made us run like, thirty laps and do all those push ups!” 

“Yeah, by the end I felt like my limbs were going to fall off!” Whatchamacallit said exaggeratingly, 

Thingamajig playfully shoved his friend. “Aww, suck it up, man!” He joked, 

The two monsters proceeded to laugh together while walking to basketball practice. 

* * *

The day itself just felt like it would never end. The sun hung in the sky all day which warmed up the town much to the citizens’ delight, but the hours just ticked by slower than ever making everyone’s workdays feel even longer. 

At around 12:25 in the afternoon at Charleston international airport, a plane landed after a long flight from the state of Pennsylvania. All of the passengers aboard the plane exited through the gate in an orderly fashion. 

Among these passengers was a sweet looking sheep. She looked to be around the age of twenty five. She stood around five foot seven and had short fluffy wool all over her face and body. Her soft white hair was in curls that went down a little past her shoulders; her hazel eyes shone in the light of the airport. She was clad in a comfy coral sweater and skinny jeans as well as tan fur boots. 

The sheep took a deep breath as she looked around. “Well, here we are. This is where my life starts.” She said to herself, the sheep bravely attempted to navigate her way to the airport, her purple carry-on suitcase rolling behind her all the while. Looking around, being in a new state all on her own seemed really intimidating. 

“Don’t worry, Lamby. You can do this. You were just here recently.” The sheep known as Lamby chided to herself, 

Lamby had visited the state and met with a real estate agent a few weeks prior. The agent was a short penguin who was really nice. The young ewe came to her and was looking into purchasing a home in the area. She had looked at a few homes online and finally settled on this nice quaint little home in a quiet suburban area called ‘Maskglen’. So she called up the real estate agent and scheduled a date to head down there and meet up. The meeting overall went extremely well, and by the end the sheep ended up signing the papers closing the deal. The penguin realtor gleamed as she handed the sheep her keys. Lamby was ecstatic as she flew home to finish packing her stuff and arrange a date to move. She was lucky that she had her family and friends to help her out though they were all going to miss her. Now she had finally come back and was here to stay. 

After about ten to twenty minutes of trying to find the exits, the young sheep finally found the way out and called for a taxi. She loaded her bag into the trunk and climbed into the backseat. 

“Where are you headed?” The taxi driver asked kindly as he looked at her through the rearview mirror, he was a large purple gremlin. 

“Take me to this address.” She showed him a piece of paper with a house address written on it. 

“Of course.” The Gremlin said, he started up the car and they were off. 

* * *

Flamingo was relieved when she was able to head home for her lunch break. She worked as a nurse at the local hospital. During her high school and college years, she actually began a steady singing career with Black Widow which garnered her some fame and fortune. But after a while she grew tired of it all and retired from that part of her life. Following that, she finished obtaining her medical license and got a job as a nurse. Flamingo actually really loved her job. She thought it felt really good to help other people in need. But today was one of the most grueling days that she had had. She had to attend three different operations, then she had to work the receptionist desk for about an hour where the line was absolutely ridiculous, and finally she had to tend to over a dozen patients all by herself. She loved the job, but it was so tiring. 

Flamingo tried her best to stay awake at the wheel. She caught herself falling asleep about three times before jolting herself awake. Before she knew it, she was finally home. Upon getting out of her car, she realized that something was...different. She just couldn’t quite put her pink finger on it. As she slouched up the front porch, she took a moment to look around at all of the surrounding yards. She squinted her tired eyes to see everything. 

“Hmm...Nothing looks too out of the ordinary,” She muttered to herself as she looked around, “I mean, that Llama fellow across the street has his lawn perfectly cut as always, Miss Bee’s flowers are in full bloom, the house next door got sold, and that place over there--.” Flamingo stopped dead in her tracks and her tired eyes shot wide open. “Wait, what?” The sassy pink bird did a double take at the house next door that had remained _Desocupadas_ for months. The realty sign in the front yard was still there, but something was different. 

A large red **_“SOLD”_ ** sticker was slapped across it. 

“Oh...my...God…” Flamingo said, surprised, “The house sold…” Her exhaustion was now completely gone. She hurried to grab her phone from the pocket of her scrubs. “The house sold! I gotta tell Butterfly! We’re getting a new neighbor! Woohoo!” She cheered, 

Flamingo phoned Butterfly and told her the good news. Butterfly, of course, was also very excited. The two best friends decided then and there that they would make the new neighbor, whoever they were, feel super extra welcome in their quiet little town. 

Not one minute after Flamingo got off of the phone with Butterfly she noticed a taxi pull up in front of the recently sold house next door. Out of the taxi stepped a gorgeous young sheep. She paid the Gremlin driver and the taxi took off. The sheep smiled up at her new house, key in hand, practically bubbling with excitement. 

“I’m here...My new home...I can’t believe it.” Lamby said excitedly, Flamingo only watched as the sheep walked up the walkway to the front porch and inserted the key in the front door, heading on into the house. It was obvious that this was their ‘new neighbor’. 

“Hmm...She seems nice enough; good taste in fashion too. I like her already.” Flamingo said to herself, “But I’m gonna wait for Butterfly before we meet her. Besides, she probably needs some time to get settled in.” Without another word, Flamingo went into her house as well. 


	2. Chapter 2: New Neighbor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A.N: What’s up, everybody! Welcome back to “Masked”! In Before we start, I would like to thank you guys for supporting this story again as I reposted it :) So, in the last chapter, we saw how normal everyday life is for a few of the masks. Everything is pretty chill, but they each have the feeling that something is missing, such as Whatcha and Thing debating on the importance of finding a soulmate and both Butterfly and Flamingo lamenting about their neighbor Miss Flower moving away. At the end a new neighbor moved into the house between Butterfly and Flamingo’s homes. How will their new neighbor adjust? And how will everyone else react to this new girl in town? Find out right now!**

The next day, Wednesday, went by slowly in the town of Maskglen. But that was really nothing new. Each day all of its citizens woke up to the exact same routines, going to the same jobs, seeing the same people. To most it felt like they were in a rut. Well, except for Butterfly and Flamingo. 

The two friends were super elated because they finally had a new neighbor; a pretty lady sheep about their age. It was all very exciting. They had yet to talk to the sheep because they wanted to let her have a chance to settle in and become more comfortable with everything. So, naturally, they too just went about their normal business. All throughout the day before, they noticed their new neighbor made a lot of great progress moving in. It all looked so tiring at first and they figured they should probably lend a hand. But in the end they decided it’d be best to stay out of her way, and it didn’t take long for them to notice that she was actually handling it very well. Plus she had a whole group of movers helping her do it. 

* * *

Later on Tuesday afternoon, the same day she flew into town with her house keys, the moving truck carrying all of her furniture and belongings showed up in front of her house. Lamby was pleased that they were right on schedule. With her directions as well as a little extra help from her, the team of movers who were helping her move managed to get the job done within an hour or two. She paid them for their troubles and they were off. The young ewe then got the last few boxes into her house. 

Lamby sighed as she set the last box down, wiping her sweat from her wooly forehead. “Wow! That was a lot!” She wheezed as she struggled to catch her breath, all of the furniture was where it needed to be and every box was in the house. A lot of the furniture was in place; now it was all up to her to unpack and get things sorted in her new home. Luckily, the sheep didn’t bring too much with her and she had bought some of the furniture before the move. But it was already so late in the day and she didn’t have the energy to unpack all of the boxes. So she headed to bed deciding that she would handle it all in the morning. 

Her first night in the new house was rather...interesting. Sure, it felt rather strange being in an empty house, only really having her bed and other furniture set up while all of the packed boxes were still sealed and piled downstairs. But she didn’t mind all that much. This whole move was like an adventure so nothing could bring her upbeat mood down. 

Lamby woke up early Wednesday afternoon and yawned as she tiredly came down the stairs still in her pajamas. She looked around at all of the boxes that were sitting in both the living room and the foyer and remembered that she had to unpack. 

“Well, I’d better get to work.” She said to herself, 

Lamby spent all of her Wednesday digging through the boxes and putting things away. By the time she was done, the sun was already setting. It was at this point that Lamby suddenly began to feel a little homesick. On her first night there, she was so excited about finally getting her own place that she didn’t notice how empty it really was despite it being mostly empty except for the furniture. But now that she was all settled in, now that the boxes were all unpacked and everything was where it needed to be, the reality that she was all on her own and far away from home completely sank in which made her feel extremely lonely. 

Her biggest worry when she first decided to move was that she would miss her home and her family too much; and now it seemed like it was already happening. One full day in and she already missed home. To ease her loneliness, she decided to FaceTime her family just to see their faces again. Her parents, Ram and Woolma, were glad to see that their oldest daughter had made it to her new town safe and sound, but they too already missed her so much. Her younger brother and sister, James and Dolly, decided to joke with her asking her if she had found a boyfriend yet. 

Lamby smiled and rolled her eyes at that, but consoled her parents and promised them that she would call or FaceTime them everyday and come home for the holidays as well. After saying goodnight to them and hanging up, the sheep wasn’t sure of what to do. At this point, she had nothing left to unpack and she wasn’t supposed to start her new job until Monday. Feeling drained from the move and unwilling to head out anywhere, the ewe opted to stay inside and watch a movie in her pajamas while eating some Chinese takeout before passing out on the couch. 

* * *

The next morning, the entire town woke up to another bright and beautiful day. The citizens of Maskglen were delighted that today was a lot warmer than it was two days prior. 

Butterfly and Flamingo both stepped out onto their back porches, as usual. The gorgeous blue green butterfly and the sassy pink bird instantly noticed each other.

“Morning!” Flamingo waved, 

“Good morning, Flamingo!” Butterfly waved back, 

“How are you today,  _ amiga _ ?” Flamingo asked, 

“Meh, about the same.” Butterfly shrugged, “You?” 

“Same.” Flamingo replied, 

The two best friends proceeded to calmly enjoy their coffee and tea while they chatted. Just like they did every morning. 

“So, did you manage to get in touch with everyone and let them know about the get together tomorrow night?” Flamingo asked, 

Butterfly nodded proudly, “Yep! Just about everyone will be able to make it! Well, except for Rottweiler and Rabbit. They’re still on tour; who knows when they’ll be back.” 

Flamingo sighed, “Ah well…” She took a sip of her coffee. She then looked at the empty porch of the house that separated both of theirs. 

“Say, do you think we should finally meet the new neighbor?” She’s had some time to settle in.” Flamingo suggested, 

Butterfly gave a concerned look. “I don’t know...Do you think that would be smart?” 

“Why not? I think she would like the warm welcome!” Flamingo replied, “Besides, she seems to be all settled in now. I don’t think we’ll be bothering her.” 

Butterfly hummed in thought as she drummed her fingers on her mug. Finally she smiled at her pink-feathered friend. 

“Aww what the heck!? Let’s do it!” 

“Alright!” Flamingo cheered pumping her fist into the air, 

* * *

The two friends quickly got dolled up following their daily morning porch chat and hurried over to meet their new neighbor’s home. They both strode up the stone walkway and porch steps to the front door. 

Butterfly turned to Flamingo. “Okay, we’re going to greet her nicely, welcome her to the neighborhood, and introduce ourselves.” She said, 

“Got it.” Flamingo winked at her winged friend, she then turned and politely rang the doorbell. 

Lamby was already awake and sitting alone at the table in her empty dining room. She was dressed in comfy sweats and a hoodie looking at her phone in her left hand while she stirred her tea with her right. An empty plate dusted with crumbs leftover from the toast she had that morning was set off to the side. 

The ewe was once again feeling pretty homesick. What was worse was that she couldn’t call her family because her parents were already at work and her siblings were in school. She blankly stared at her phone trying to distract herself by flipping through the news and social media. All the same. 

But she was abruptly snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Lamby quirked an eyebrow. “...Who could that be at this hour?” She asked herself, the young sheep got up from the table and set her dirty dish in the sink before striding over to the door. Before she answered, she took a look out of the peephole and saw a blue and green butterfly and a bright pink flamingo. Both were obviously female. They were smiling as they patiently waited for the door to be answered. 

_ ‘These must be my neighbors. They look nice enough.’ _ Lamby thought, all of a sudden she felt a little shy. But she swallowed her fear and opened the door to meet these two other ladies. 

“Uh...good morning.” Lamby shyly greeted, 

“ _ Buenas días _ .” Flamingo said sweetly, 

“Good morning.” Butterfly said, 

“May I help you?” Lamby asked, 

Butterfly then spoke up. “Well, we’re your new neighbors. I’m Butterfly, and this is my best friend, Flamingo.” She gestured to the sassy pink bird. 

Flamingo winked and flashed a peace sign. “What’s up?” 

“We just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood.” Butterfly finished, 

Lamby smiled now feeling a lot more comfortable around the two other female creatures. “Oh, well, thank you so much. That’s very thoughtful of you.” She said, “I’m Lamby Fleece. Nice to meet you.” She then extended her hand out to them. Both Butterfly and Flamingo happily shook her hand. 

Lamby then politely opened the door wider and gestured into her home. “Would you care to come in?” She offered, 

“That would be wonderful,  _ gracias _ .” Flamingo said, both her and Butterfly stepped inside as Lamby closed the door behind her. The Rhopalocera and the bird walked into the living room taking a moment to admire the lovely dwelling. The living room was rather modest. A comfy cream-colored couch sat in the middle of the room over a matching rug. In front of it was a dark wood coffee table and a television. An end table was next to the right arm of the couch with a small Tiffany lamp. The light brown carpeted floor felt soft beneath their feet. Behind the couch stood a rather large curio cabinet. The two best friends remembered that Miss Flower had owned that cabinet, but didn’t take it with her when she moved as it wouldn’t have fit in her new place. Seeing that cabinet sobered their otherwise rather cheery mood as they missed their old neighbor, but they quickly shook it off. 

Lamby hesitantly stepped into the living room with them. She gestured to the matching cream-colored chairs that were also beside the couch. “Sit wherever you like. Make yourselves at home.” 

Butterfly and Flamingo obliged and took their place at one of the comfy chairs. 

“Can I interest either of you in a drink? Water? Juice? Coffee? Tea, perhaps? I have a fresh pot ready.” Lamby offered, 

“Tea sounds nice, actually,” Butterfly said, “No sugar.”

“Okay, you like the herbal stuff?” Lamby asked, 

“I love it.” Butterfly replied, 

“I’ll just take a water.” Flamingo shrugged, 

The sweet ewe nodded and made a beeline for the kitchen. About a minute later, she came back with the beverages and handed them out before sitting down on the couch. Both Butterfly and Flamingo said ‘Thank you’.

Flamingo took a swig of her water, “So Lamby, where are you from?” She asked her,

“Oh, well, I’m from a small town in Pennsylvania. Charming little place; the kind of town where you just know everybody. I lived with my mother, father, brother, and sister.” Lamby explained, “Life was perfect there; I had my family and friends and stuff...but I wanted to kind of start my own life. You know, head out into the world. Be independent.” 

“I hear you.” Butterfly nodded, 

“Amen.” Flamingo said, 

“So, how have you been holding up since you moved here?” Butterfly asked leaning forward a little bit, she genuinely cared about the well-being of her neighbor. 

Lamby shrugged as she leaned back now lounging on the couch. “Meh, I’ll admit it was a little hard and scary at first...but I think I’ll be okay. I honestly can’t wait to start my new job on Monday! That ought to perk things up a bit.” She finished that sentence with an energetic smile. 

“What do you do?” Flamingo asked curiously, 

“I’m actually starting as a teacher; Seventh grade Social Studies.” Lamby explained, 

“Ooh! Very interesting.” Flamingo replied, 

Lamby nodded, “Yeah. Moving here just seems so exciting. I mean, here I am taking the first steps into my life and it just has me all jittery...But in a good way!” She said, “I especially can’t wait to get out and meet other people!” 

Suddenly a brilliant idea formed in the sassy pink bird’s head. “Say Lamby, our friends and us are all having a little get together at Butterfly’s house tomorrow night. You wanna come?” She offered, 

The sheep’s eyes widened in surprise. “W-What?” 

Flamingo then looked to Butterfly, “You think that would be okay, Butter? If Lamby came to our hangout tomorrow night?” 

“Of course! The more the merrier! But only if she wants to.” Butterfly replied, 

“Well? Whaddayah say?” Flamingo asked looking back at Lamby, 

“Oh I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your bonding time with your friends.” She said unsure, 

Flamingo cut in, “Nonsense! We’d love to have you there! You just said that you want to get out and meet people; here’s your chance! Come on, it’ll be fun, and all of our friends would love to meet you too.” 

“...Are they nice?” Lamby asked shyly, 

“ _ Super _ nice. Come on, we’ll all have a great time. Trust me.” Flamingo said putting an assuring hand on her shoulder, 

The young sheep thought about it for a second, taking a few dainty sips from her cup of tea all the while. Finally she smiled and nodded. 

“Sure, why not?” She replied, 

Flamingo then sprung up from the chair super excited. “Awesome! The party is at 8 o’clock; on the dot; Butterfly’s place.” 

“Great! I’ll be looking forward to it.” Lamby replied, 

The three ladies then finished off their drinks while having delightful conversations regarding other things such as the nice turn in weather and how great the neighborhood is. When it was finally time to go, both Butterfly and Flamingo stood up. 

“Alright Flamingo, I think we’ve overstayed our welcome.” Butterfly said, 

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” The pink bird nodded, 

“No, it was a pleasure having you.” Lamby replied, 

“Thanks, but we should probably go anyway.” Butterfly replied, 

Lamby then stood up from the couch. “Here, let me see you two out.” She said, 

The three of them walked over to the door. 

“Thank you both for stopping by. I really do appreciate it.” Lamby said sweetly, 

“It was no problem.” Butterfly replied, “If you need anything, please let us know.” 

Lamby nodded, “I’ll do that. 

“See you at the party tomorrow,  _ chica _ !” Flamingo said, “Remember: Dress to impress.” 

Lamby giggled. “See you then.”

“Welcome again.” Butterfly waved, 

“Thank you.” Lamby waved back, 

The two friends walked out of the house and Lamby closed the door behind her. She smiled to herself as she went to clear the dirty dishes. 

“Huh, almost two days in and I’m already making some friends. How about that?” She said,

* * *

Both Butterfly and Flamingo walked over to Butterfly’s home one house over. They stood by the mailbox and talked. 

“I really like Lamby, don’t you?” Flamingo asked, 

Butterfly nodded, “Yeah, she seems really cool. She gives off real ‘Down to Earth’ vibes. I just hope she feels okay at the party tomorrow night…” She then felt her phone vibrate once in her pocket meaning that someone had sent her a text message. 

“Hmm, I wonder who’s texting me.” She pulled her phone out and saw who was texting her. It was from Ladybug which read: 

_ “Butterfly! Where are you!? We were supposed to start rehearsal like, half an hour ago!” _

Butterfly’s large emerald compound eyes widened upon seeing the message. “Aw crap! I gotta go! I’m late for our group practice!” She dashed into her house to quickly retrieve her bag and coat before coming back out and locking up her house. As all this was happening, Flamingo watched with wide eyes as her friend was in a mad scramble to get to work. 

“I’ll see you later, Flamingo!” Butterfly called over her shoulder as she made a mad dash down the street. 

* * *

It took about ten minutes before Butterfly made it to the venue for her group’s rehearsal. She burst through the front door to the club; both Black Widow and Ladybug were just standing around the stage waiting for her. 

“I’m here! I’m here!” Butterfly said completely out of breath. 

They both looked in her direction. 

“Well it’s about time.” Ladybug stated curtly, 

“Where were you, Butter!? We’ve waited almost an hour for you!” Black Widow said, 

Butterfly sighed as she hung her trench coat on a nearby coat rack. “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, guys. I promise that I wasn’t skipping out on you. It’s just that this new neighbor moved in next door and Flamingo and I wanted to meet her and make her feel welcome.” She explained, 

Both other insects’ looks suddenly softened, they looked at each other before looking back at her. 

“You mean the house finally sold?” Black Widow said surprised, 

Butterfly smiled and nodded. 

“Oh that’s wonderful news!” Ladybug explained, her previous annoyance regarding Butterfly’s tardiness was now completely gone. “So, who moved in?” 

“Her name is Lamby. She’s a sheep around our age and she’s really cool; a bit shy, though.” Butterfly said, 

“Sweet.” Ladybug replied, “She sounds nice.” 

“ _ Very  _ nice.” Butterfly said, “In fact, Flamingo and I actually invited her to the get together tomorrow night.” 

“Great! We can’t wait to meet her!” Black Widow said cheerfully, 

“Alright now, let’s get to practicing!” Ladybug said encouragingly, 

The three ladies practiced their number for about two hours until it was finally time to break for lunch. Ladybug decided to head to a small café a few doors down from the venue that they performed at. Black Widow and Butterfly decided to stay at the venue and just chill out for the time being as they weren’t really that hungry. 

Butterfly and her eight-legged friend and fellow group member sat at one of the many tables that were facing the stage. While Black Widow was occupied with texting some friends and loved ones, the blue green Rhopalocera had her eyes fixated on the stage as someone else was currently using it. 

Fox was another one of the performers that worked at the venue. He liked to dress up in steampunk-like clothing and had golden metal plating and a glowing cybernetic eye where his right one would normally be. No one knew what happened to his face and his eye. He refused to talk about it. 

Fox was always rather polite and very kind to those around him. Not to mention, he was one hell of a performer. His act usually involved singing and playing the piano onstage; and that was what he was currently doing at that moment. He hummed softly as his furry fingers danced across the keys causing the piano to let out a sweet and gentle melody that could completely enchant just about anyone within earshot. Finally he finished his song. 

Butterfly politely applauded. “Brava! Brava, Fox! Beautiful!” 

He just shot her a sincere smile and tipped his hat to her signifying his thanks before getting off the stage so the ladies could resume practice. It wasn’t long before Ladybug came back with a croissant in her hand. 

“Okay, are we ready to get back to it?” She asked them, 

Both Butterfly and Black Widow stood up from the table. 

Butterfly stretched out her large, shimmering wings. “Yeah, let’s go.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And that’s going to do it for Chapter 2! Sorry if it was a little boring, but Lamby meeting some of the other masks had to be established before we get to the fun parts of the story. In the next chapter we’re going to see the get-together finally happen. That’s going to be fun! Until then, I’ll see you all later. Bye!**

**Author's Note:**

> **Well there you have it. The new and improved Chapter 1! I should have Chapter 2 up within a week. Until then, see you all later! ;)**


End file.
